Sajnos tegnap a barátom kölcsönt kért, pedig jobb lenne, ha először megpróbálná megjavítani az autóját.

Unfortunately yesterday my friend asked for a loan, although it would be better if he first tried to repair his car.

Breakdown of Sajnos tegnap a barátom kölcsönt kért, pedig jobb lenne, ha először megpróbálná megjavítani az autóját.

• lenni: to be
• jó: good
• kérni: to ask for
• autó: the car
• barát: the friend
• ha: if
• tegnap: yesterday
• -om: my
• -ja: his
• sajnos: unfortunately
• kölcsön: the loan
• pedig: although/however
• először: first
• megpróbálni: to try
• megjavítani: to repair

Questions & Answers about Sajnos tegnap a barátom kölcsönt kért, pedig jobb lenne, ha először megpróbálná megjavítani az autóját.

Why does it say a barátom (literally “the my friend”)? Why not just barátom?

In Hungarian, possessed nouns usually take the definite article: a barátom = “my friend,” a házam = “my house,” etc.
You can drop the article in some styles (especially in short answers, headings, or very colloquial speech), but the neutral, most common form in full sentences is with a/az.

What exactly does Sajnos do here, and can it go somewhere else?

Sajnos means unfortunately. It’s a sentence adverb: it comments on the whole situation. It very often comes first, but it can move:

• Sajnos tegnap… (neutral)
• Tegnap sajnos… (slightly more focus on “yesterday” first)

Why is it kölcsönt and not kölcsön?

Because kölcsön (“a loan”) is the direct object of kér (“to ask for/request”), so it takes the accusative ending -t:

• kölcsön (base form)
• kölcsönt (accusative: “a loan” as an object)

Why is the verb kért and not kérte?

Hungarian has two verb conjugations: indefinite (no specific/definite object) and definite (a specific object).
Here the object is not a specific, identified loan, just “(some) loan,” so Hungarian uses the indefinite past 3rd singular:

• kért = he asked for (something)
  If it were a definite, known thing, you’d more likely get:
• kérte = he asked for it / that / the thing

What does pedig mean here? Is it just but?

pedig is like “though / even though / yet / and the thing is…”. It often introduces a contrast, sometimes with a mildly critical or corrective tone.
In this sentence it contrasts:

• He asked for a loan, whereas/though it would be better if he tried something else first.

Why are there commas before pedig and before ha?

• A comma before pedig is common when it introduces a contrasting clause (similar to putting a comma before “but/though” in English in some styles).
• Hungarian typically uses a comma before subordinate clauses introduced by ha (“if”): jobb lenne, ha…

How does jobb lenne, ha… work? Why is it “would be better if…”?

jobb lenne is the conditional of jó (“good”): literally “it would be better.”
Hungarian often expresses advice/criticism politely via this conditional pattern:

• Jobb lenne, ha + conditional verb… = It would be better if (someone) did… / They should really…

Why is it ha … megpróbálná (conditional) instead of a “normal” tense?

In Hungarian, in these “it would be better if…” situations, the ha-clause commonly uses the conditional too:

• Jobb lenne, ha megpróbálná… = “It would be better if he tried…” Even though English uses a past form (“if he tried”), Hungarian uses the conditional to match the hypothetical/advisory tone.

What’s going on with megpróbálná megjavítani—two verbs in a row?

That’s normal: megpróbál (“try/attempt”) + infinitive.

• megpróbálná = “he would try”
• megjavítani = “to repair” (infinitive)
  So together: “he would try to repair …”

What does the prefix meg- add in megpróbálná and megjavítani?

• megjavítani: meg- often makes the action feel complete/resultative: not just “repairing” but “fixing it (successfully).”
• megpróbálni is very common and somewhat “set” as a verb meaning “to try/attempt”; the meg- doesn’t translate separately, it’s just part of the usual form.

Why is it az autóját and not az autója?

Because it’s the object of megjavítani (“to fix”), so it must be accusative.

• autója = “his/her car” (subject form)
• autóját = “his/her car” (object form, accusative -t)

Whose car is az autóját? Why isn’t there a word for “his”?

Hungarian usually encodes “his/her” with a possessive ending, not a separate pronoun:

• autó-ja = his/her car
  So az autóját here naturally means his car (i.e., your friend’s car), without needing a separate “his.”